Amandla Stenburg Bio

Amandla Stenburg made hearts melt as Rue in action-packed book-turned-movie The Hunger Games, but the 13-year-old starlet has been paving her way to fame since she was just 4-years-old. Find out more in her Kidzworld Bio!

Amandla Stenburg had her first big break in Colombiana

Amandla as Rue in The Hunger Games

Amandla with all the "Tributes" from The Hunger Games

Around the World

Amandla Stenburg’s heritage spreads all around the world. She was born on October 23rd, 1998 and is named after the Zulu word for ‘power’. Her mother is African American and her father is Danish, from Copenhagen and has some Inuit ancestry. Amandla first started modeling and acting when she was very young, landing her first Disney catalogue when she was 4 years old!

Commercial Success to Colombiana

As a young performer Amandla landed spots in commercials for Kmart and McDonald’s and Walmart, but acting wasn’t her sole interest. She is a dedicated musician and plays violin, drums and guitar! She performed with the Los Angeles Unified School District's Honors Orchestra at the Luckman Fine Arts Complex and has landed gigs playing at the House of Blues and The Hard Rock Cafe.

Amandla’s first big break in the acting industry arrived when she won a role in the Luc Besson action-thriller Colombiana playing a younger version of Zoe Saldana’s character Cataleya Restrepo, a heartless assassin. Amandla even performed many of the stunts herself and was hailed as a talent to watch by The New York Times:

"Her portrayal of the future deadly-but sensitive killer is such a perfect combination of trembling, action chops and deadpan humor."

The Hunger Games Girl

When Amandla landed the role of Rue in epic futuristic tale The Hunger Games alongside Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss, she was met with approval by Hunger Games fans and garnered immense praise from critics for her moving portrayal of the character. Variety called her a ``winning newcomer” and Time magazine gushed: